If you look on Vixen's website, it says the capacity of the original is 20lbs. Vendors' websites spec 10-15lbs. 10lbs is more reasonable IMO. My 100ED is lighter than 10lbs and the porta can't really handle it (I realize it is long). My ST80 works great with it; though it only weighs ~4lbs with diagonal and EP.

Uhhh, looks the same as the old one. Just a different mounting screw on the bottom. And different handles for the slo-mo shafts. Am I missing something? They are still saying it handles 20lbs?

No, you're not missing anything. They made it so the head can be easily detached from the tripod. And they replaced the push on slow motion controls with what appear to be short flex cables with different handles as well as set screws so the handles don't slide off. It still has the lousy aluminum legs. I dumped mine in favor of wooden ones from Hands On Optics and that made a huge difference in stability. I also replaced the stock slow motion handles with spares I had from a CG4 EQ mount.

I purchased one of these and am successfully using it with my 120ST. I find it a nearly perfect GnG set-up. The only thing I changed was to get replacement slo-mo knobs from Orion which are metal instead of the included plastic ones (they get all wobbly after a few used and fall off).

I have read that the Porta II takes a 1/4 inch thread to mount the head to the tripod. This is a standard thread size for tripods. It is unclear if the mount head is flat on the bottom or if there is an attachment that is needed in addition to secure the head to a camera tripod. I'll let you all know when I get mine.

Do yourself a favor. Dump the cheap, flimsy aluminum legs and get the wooden ones from Hands On Optics. They're a breeze to install. I use my SV102ED on the Porta and it works well. I have the SV with the FT focuser so the scope weighs more than 10 lbs. With the SV finder and a hefty eyepiece I think it weighs in at around 14 lbs and it's quite stable on the Porta.

Attached Files

Thanks for the advice Starlighter. I am going to try getting the adapter and use the head on a sturdy photo tripod. If that doesn't work I will go the replacement leg route. It's odd that such a great head would be paired with such a *BLEEP* set of legs.

I added the wooden legs to my Porta I - definitely an improvement. Still some play in where the legs bolt to the head, and in the plastic spider where the pins go through, so I made "bushings" from some brass tubing. Tightened things up a little more.

Well I did the same thing-bought the wooden legs from Hands-on Optics and put them on my original Vixen PortaMount.

Then I took them off again and put the original aluminum legs back on. I noticed no difference in damping time of the legs.

Furthermore, the original tripod legs, like most tripods, but unlike the wooden set, have a simple knob to turn for shortening or extending the legs, allowing a quick length change with a single hand, while the wood replacements have 2 simple screws with wing nuts on each leg making a length change in the legs a pain and requiring 2 hands, one on each side of the leg done twice for each leg. They are now sitting unused in my garage.

Other people may have different results, but mine would make me cautious about recommending this modification for either the Portamount or Porta II.